Top Science News

January 16, 2026

Top Headlines

A Deadly Chemical Frozen in Ice May Have Sparked Life on Earth

Jan. 16, 2026 Hydrogen cyanide, a toxic chemical, may have helped spark the chemistry that led to life. When frozen, it forms crystals with highly reactive surfaces that can drive unusual chemical reactions, even in extreme cold. These reactions could produce ...

Those Strange Red Dots in James Webb Images Finally Have an Explanation

Jan. 16, 2026 For years, strange red dots in James Webb images left scientists puzzled. New research shows they are young black holes hidden inside dense clouds of gas, glowing as they devour their surroundings. These black holes are smaller than expected but ...

Fewer Offspring, Longer Life: The Hidden Rule of Mammal Aging

Jan. 16, 2026 A large international study reveals that mammals tend to live longer when reproduction is suppressed. On average, lifespan increases by about 10 percent, though the reasons differ for males and females. Castrated males avoid the harmful effects of ...

Scientists “Resurrect” Ancient Cannabis Enzymes with Medical Promise

Jan. 15, 2026 Scientists have uncovered how cannabis evolved the ability to make its most famous compounds—THC, CBD, and CBC—by recreating ancient enzymes that existed millions of years ago. These early enzymes were multitaskers, capable of producing several ...

One Protein May Decide Whether Brain Chemistry Heals or Harms

Jan. 15, 2026 Tryptophan does far more than help us sleep—it fuels brain chemistry, energy production, and mood-regulating neurotransmitters. But as the brain ages or develops neurological disease, this delicate system goes awry, pushing tryptophan toward ...

Scientists Found the Soil Secret That Doubles Forest Regrowth

Jan. 15, 2026 New research shows tropical forests can recover twice as fast after deforestation when their soils contain enough nitrogen. Scientists followed forest regrowth across Central America for decades and found that nitrogen plays a decisive role in how ...

Stretchable OLED Displays Take a Big Leap Forward

Jan. 15, 2026 A new OLED design can stretch dramatically while staying bright, solving a problem that has long limited flexible displays. The breakthrough comes from pairing a highly efficient light-emitting material with tough, transparent MXene-based ...

Statins May Help Almost Everyone with Type 2 Diabetes Live Longer

Jan. 15, 2026 New research suggests statins may protect adults with type 2 diabetes regardless of how low their predicted heart risk appears. In a large UK study, statin use was linked to fewer deaths and major cardiac events across all risk levels. Even those ...

Electrons Stop Acting Like Particles—and Physics Still Works

Jan. 15, 2026 Physicists have long relied on the idea that electrons behave like tiny particles zipping through materials, even though quantum physics says their exact position is fundamentally uncertain. Now, researchers at TU Wien have discovered something ...

This After-meal Blood Sugar Spike May Raise Alzheimer’s Risk

Jan. 15, 2026 Spikes in blood sugar after eating may be more dangerous for the brain than previously thought. In a massive genetic study, people with higher post-meal blood sugar had a much greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The effect couldn’t be explained ...

Forest Loss Is Driving Mosquitoes’ Thirst for Human Blood

Jan. 15, 2026 In the rapidly disappearing Atlantic Forest, mosquitoes are adapting to a human-dominated landscape. Scientists found that many species now prefer feeding on people rather than the forest’s diverse wildlife. This behavior dramatically raises the ...

Scientists Question the Safety of BPA-free Packaging

Jan. 15, 2026 “BPA-free” food packaging may be hiding new risks. A McGill University study found that several BPA substitutes used in grocery price labels can seep into food and interfere with vital processes in human ovarian cells. Some triggered unusual fat ...

Latest Headlines

updated 3:46am EST

Northwestern Medicine’s New Antibody Wakes the Immune System Against Pancreatic Cancer

Jan. 15, 2026 Pancreatic cancer uses a sugar-coated disguise to evade the immune system, helping explain why it’s so hard to treat. Northwestern scientists ...

New Research Challenges the Cold Dark Matter Assumption

Jan. 15, 2026 Dark matter, one of the Universe’s greatest mysteries, may have been born blazing hot instead of cold and sluggish as scientists long believed. New research shows that dark matter particles could ...

How Everyday Foam Reveals the Secret Logic of Artificial Intelligence

Jan. 15, 2026 Foams were once thought to behave like glass, with bubbles frozen in place at the microscopic level. But new simulations reveal that foam bubbles are always shifting, even while the foam keeps its ...

Scientists Uncover a Hidden Type of Diabetes in Newborns

Jan. 14, 2026 Researchers have discovered a rare new type of diabetes that affects babies early in life. The condition is caused by changes in a single gene that prevent insulin-producing cells from working ...

Scientists Finally Uncover Why Statins Cause Muscle Pain

Jan. 14, 2026 A new discovery may explain why so many people abandon cholesterol-lowering statins because of muscle pain and weakness. Researchers found that certain statins can latch onto a key muscle protein and ...

This Sweet Fruit Is Packed With Hidden Health Compounds

Jan. 14, 2026 Scientists are taking a closer look at monk fruit and discovering it’s more than just a sugar substitute. New research shows its peel and pulp contain a rich mix of antioxidants and bioactive ...

Massive Brain Study Reveals Why Memory Loss Can Suddenly Speed Up With Age

Jan. 14, 2026 A massive international brain study has revealed that memory decline with age isn’t driven by a single brain region or gene, but by widespread structural changes across the brain that build up over ...

“Marine Darkwaves”: Hidden Ocean Blackouts Are Putting Sealife at Risk

Jan. 14, 2026 Scientists have identified a newly recognized threat lurking beneath the ocean’s surface: sudden episodes of underwater darkness that can last days or even months. Caused by storms, sediment ...

Scientists Found the Brain Rhythm That Makes Your Body Feel Like Yours

Jan. 14, 2026 A new study reveals that alpha brain waves help the brain decide what belongs to your body. Faster rhythms allow the brain to match sight and touch more precisely, strengthening the feeling that a ...

Doctors Discover the Source of Mysterious Intoxication

Jan. 13, 2026 Some people get drunk without drinking because their gut bacteria produce alcohol from food. Researchers have now identified the microbes and biological pathways behind this rare condition, ...

Millions With Dementia Still Prescribed Drugs Linked to Falls and Confusion

Jan. 13, 2026 Despite longstanding guidelines, many dementia patients are still prescribed brain-altering medications that can raise the risk of falls and confusion. A new study shows that while prescribing has ...

This Strange Form of Water May Power Giant Planets’ Magnetic Fields

Jan. 13, 2026 At extreme pressures and temperatures, water becomes superionic — a solid that behaves partly like a liquid and conducts electricity. This unusual form is believed to shape the magnetic fields of ...

Extreme Heat Is Breaking Honey Bees’ Natural Cooling System

Jan. 13, 2026 Honey bees can normally keep their hives perfectly climate-controlled, but extreme heat can overwhelm their defenses. During a scorching Arizona summer, researchers found that high temperatures ...

Scientists Discover What’s Linking Floods and Droughts Across the Planet

Jan. 13, 2026 Scientists tracking Earth’s water from space discovered that El Niño and La Niña are synchronizing floods and droughts across continents. When these climate cycles intensify, far-apart regions ...

This New Sugar Tastes Like the Real Thing Without the Usual Downsides

Jan. 13, 2026 Scientists at Tufts have found a way to turn common glucose into a rare sugar that tastes almost exactly like table sugar—but with far fewer downsides. Using engineered bacteria as microscopic ...

A New Test Reveals Which Antibiotics Truly Kill Bacteria

Jan. 12, 2026 Some antibiotics stop bacteria from growing without actually killing them, allowing infections to return later. Scientists at the University of Basel created a new test that tracks individual ...

When the Oceans Died and Life Changed Forever

Jan. 11, 2026 A rapid climate collapse during the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction devastated ocean life and reshuffled Earth’s ecosystems. In the aftermath, jawed vertebrates gained an unexpected edge by ...

A Room Full of Flu Patients and No One Got Sick

Jan. 11, 2026 In a striking real-world experiment, flu patients spent days indoors with healthy volunteers, but the virus never spread. Researchers found that limited coughing and well-mixed indoor air kept virus ...

10 Quintillion Hydrogen Bombs Every Second: Webb Detects Massive Galactic Eruption

Jan. 10, 2026 Scientists have discovered an enormous stream of super-hot gas erupting from a nearby galaxy, driven by a powerful black hole at its center. The jets stretch farther than the galaxy itself and spiral ...

This Natural Amino Acid Could Help Stop Cavities Before They Start

Jan. 9, 2026 Sugar-loving mouth bacteria create acids that damage teeth, but arginine can help fight back. In a clinical trial, arginine-treated dental plaque stayed less acidic, became structurally less harmful, ...

The 4x Rule: Why Some People’s DNA Is More Unstable Than Others

Jan. 9, 2026 A large genetic study shows that many people carry DNA sequences that slowly expand as they get older. Common genetic variants can dramatically alter how fast this expansion happens, sometimes ...

Common Food Preservatives Linked to Higher Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Jan. 9, 2026 Foods that rely heavily on preservatives may be doing more than extending shelf life. In a large study spanning more than a decade, people with the highest intake of preservative additives were far ...

Scientists Find Exercise Rivals Therapy for Depression

Jan. 8, 2026 A large review of studies suggests that exercise can ease depression about as effectively as psychological therapy. Compared with antidepressants, exercise showed similar benefits, though the ...

Stanford’s AI Spots Hidden Disease Warnings That Show Up While You Sleep

Jan. 9, 2026 Stanford researchers have developed an AI that can predict future disease risk using data from just one night of sleep. The system analyzes detailed physiological signals, looking for hidden patterns ...

A White Dwarf’s Cosmic Feeding Frenzy Revealed by NASA

Jan. 8, 2026 Using NASA’s IXPE, astronomers captured an unprecedented view of a white dwarf star actively feeding on material from a companion. The data revealed giant columns of ultra-hot gas shaped by the ...

Scientists Are Closing in on the Universe’s Biggest Mystery

Jan. 8, 2026 Nearly everything in the universe is made of mysterious dark matter and dark energy, yet we can’t see either of them directly. Scientists are developing detectors so sensitive they can spot ...

People in Brazil Are Living Past 110 and Scientists Want to Know Why

Jan. 8, 2026 Scientists are uncovering why Brazil may be one of the most important yet underused resources for studying extreme longevity. Its highly diverse population harbors millions of genetic variants ...

A New Study Casts Doubt on Life Beneath Europa’s Ice

Jan. 7, 2026 Europa’s buried ocean has made it one of the most exciting places to search for life beyond Earth. However, new calculations suggest its seafloor may be calm, cold, and largely inactive, with ...

The Simplest Way Teens Can Protect Their Mental Health

Jan. 7, 2026 Teens who sleep in on weekends may be giving their mental health a boost. A new study found that young people who made up for lost weekday sleep had a significantly lower risk of depression. While ...

The Invisible Energy Cost That Keeps Life from Falling Apart

Jan. 6, 2026 Living cells pay a hidden energy price not just to run chemical reactions, but to keep them on track and block all the alternatives. A new thermodynamic framework makes it possible to calculate these ...